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Dudley Zoo welcomes new arrival

Dudley Zoo has had another new arrival – common buzzard Maverick who is gearing up to join the flying display squad.

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The beautiful male was captive-bred by Cotswold Falconry Centre in Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire and came to the zoo at 18 weeks.

Maverick, who was named by Dudley Zoo keepers, is now being trained for the daily birds of prey displays.

Head of birds, Kellie Piper, said: "Maverick is doing well, sitting on the fist and is getting used to being around people.

"We are going through a process called manning with him where we get him used to different surroundings he will encounter and that can mean all sorts of things here at the zoo, including pushchairs, umbrellas and balloons.

"It is all about winning his trust. We are also starting to drop his weight to prepare him for the displays and the next stage will be getting him to hop to the fist for food.

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"Eventually we hope he will fly from the top of the Castle keep and swoop down to land on the perch during the displays. That would be a great spectacle for our visitors."

The common buzzard is a medium-to-large bird of prey, whose range covers most of Europe and extends into Asia. It is usually resident year-round, except in the coldest parts of its range and in the case of one subspecies.

It measures between 40cm and 58cm in length.

It breeds in woodlands, usually on the fringes but favours hunting over open land.

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